The present invention generally relates to a delivery system and method for delivering an expandable endoluminal prosthetic device such as a stent graft and more particularly to a device and method for placing an acutely angled bifurcated stent graft through a single access incision. Expandable surgical devices such as stents or stent grafts are used in a variety of places in the human body to repair aneurysms and to support various anatomical lumens, such as blood vessels, respiratory ducts, gastrointestinal ducts, and the like.
Conventionally, these devices are deployed across an aneurysm or in the regions of a stenosis in the target body lumen to repair the aneurysm or to hold the lumen open. Because stent graft implantation is a relatively non-invasive procedure, it has been proven to be a favorable alternative to surgery in, for example, the repair of an aneurysm. Bifurcated devices with their trunk and branching configuration are particularly well suited for use in branching body lumen systems, such as in the coronary vasculature, and the peripheral vasculature. The coronary vasculature includes the right, left common, left anterior descending and circumflex arteries and their branches. The peripheral vasculature includes branches of the carotids, aorta, femoral, popliteal, internal iliac, or hypergastric and related arteries. Placement of such a bifurcated device can be rather complicated, and often involves approaching the bifurcated section of the artery through at least two side branches or through the trunk plus one side branch. The procedure is not only time consuming, but can also lead to more incision sites in the patient's body and can necessitate more complicated maneuvers for the surgeon. These complications are further exaggerated when an acutely angled or reverse direction side branch is accessed, as for example a repair of the hypergastric artery. U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,242 teaches a bifurcated intravascular stent graft comprising primary stent segments and a primary graft sleeve forming a main fluid channel and having a side opening therethrough.
However, there exists a need for a stent graft delivery system which would allow placement of bifurcated stent grafts into acutely angled vasculature such that simpler surgical procedures are enabled. A simplified surgical procedure would decrease the number or size of incisions, reduce the required surgical steps, and thereby reduce patient trauma associated with a more complex medical procedure.